Event Details

The Friends of Coronado and Jemez Historic Sites welcome the Texas Camel Corp to Coronado Historic Site. This family-friendly event encourages visitors to learn about the history of camels in the Southwest while interacting with live camels. There will also be interactive artist demonstrations, storytelling, and guided tours of the site.

Schedule:10 AM: Doors open10 AM – 2 PM: Artist demonstrations10:20 – 11 AM: Texas Camel Corps presentation on the history of the US Army Camel Corps11 – 11:30 AM:  Montie Avery tells the story of a Muleskinner working in NM during the 1850s11 AM – Noon: Site tour with kiva visit12:30 – 1:15 PM: Texas Camel Corps presentation on the history of the US Army Camel Corps1:15 – 1:45 PM: Storytelling with Montie Avery2 – 3 PM: Site tour with kiva visit

Tickets are $10 per person and free to children 16 and younger, NM disabled veterans, NM foster families, Tribal Affiliations, Friends of Coronado & Jemez members, and MNMF members. Tickets available online at https://my.nmculture.org/32482/43386 or at the event. Visit https://www.coronadojemezfriends.org/events-1 for more info. Support for this event is provided by the Town of Bernalillo Lodgers’ Tax Grant.

In the 1850s during the Gold Rush, the US Army launched an ambitious experiment to find pack animals that could survive water scarcity in the Southwest and haul gold and supplies. As a result, Major Henry C. Wayne led efforts to acquire 33 camels from Egypt and Turkey, bringing them to Texas for training. President James Buchanan tasked Edward Beale with surveying and building a 1,000-mile road from Arkansas to California, requiring him to include 25 camels in the expedition. In 1859, the group passed through El Morro, New Mexico, on their way to California. The camels, well-suited to desert conditions, garnered attention upon arrival in Los Angeles for their resilience and ability to thrive where other animals struggled. Soon after, the US Army Camel Corps was established. Though the camels were later auctioned and sold for use in a mail run in Texas, they were useful during expeditions at that time.

Image credit: US Army Camel Corp training at Menangle Park, Australia,1916. Photographer unknown.